The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly to methods and systems for routing information within a computer system.
Computerized personal organizers are becoming increasingly popular. They perform such functions as keeping calendars, address books, to-do lists, etc. While these functions can be provided by conventional computer systems, they are more conveniently provided by personal organizers which are relatively inexpensive, small, and lightweight (i.e. portable). Personal organizers are available from such companies as Sharp and Casio of Japan.
A relatively new form of computer, the pen-based computer system, holds forth the promise of a marriage of the power of a general purpose computer with the functionality and small size of a personal organizer. A pen-based computer system is typically a small, hand-held computer where the primary method for inputting data includes a "pen" or stylus. A pen-based computer system is commonly housed in a generally rectangular enclosure, and has a dual-function display assembly providing a viewing screen along one of the planar sides of the enclosure. The dual-function display assembly serves as both an input device and an output device. When operating as an input device, the display assembly senses the position of the tip of a stylus on the viewing screen and provides this positional information to the computer's central processing unit (CPU). Some display assemblies can also sense the pressure of the stylus on the screen to provide further information to the CPU. When operating as an output device, the display assembly presents computer-generated images on the screen.
The dual-function displays of pen-based computer systems permit users to operate the computers as computerized notepads. For example, graphical images can be input into the pen-based computer by merely moving the stylus across the surface of the screen. As the CPU senses the position and movement of the stylus, it generates a corresponding image on the screen to create the illusion that the stylus is drawing the image directly upon the screen, i.e. that the stylus is "inking" an image on the screen. With suitable recognition software, the "ink" can be identified as text and numeric information.
The information input via the pen or stylus can be interpreted (e.g., recognized as handwriting) or otherwise manipulated by the computer system and the processes it employs. Some powerful pen-based computer systems employ "objects" having certain attributes which can be queried. And some of these same systems employ "frame systems" in which frame objects are related by a semantic network. A description of semantic networks can be found in "A Fundamental Tradeoff in Knowledge Representation and Reasoning", Readings in Knowledge Representation, by Brachman and Leveseque, Morgan Kaufman, San Mateo, 1985. A particular advantage of frame systems is that the frames (e.g. documents) can be easily accessed and used by any application in the computer system.
Many users must send information to sources outside of a computer they are currently using. Similarly, many users must receive information from sources outside of their computer. The outside sources and destinations may be other computer systems located in other cities or even countries. To accommodate such users, some pen-based computers have extensive built-in communications capabilities for routing information. These capabilities allow the user to send and receive information over, for example, phone lines (by modem), infra-red light beams, and/or radio-frequency electromagnetic waves. The transmitted information may take the form of facsimiles, electronic mail messages, etc. Pen-based computers having such capabilities include a user interface that allows the user to initiate the sending, receiving, and routing actions.
Some conventional desktop computers have graphical user interfaces that allow users to control these functions through menus, dialog boxes, etc. Although such desktop computers contain user interfaces allowing the user to conveniently send and receive information, other interfaces would be desirable to suit the styles of a variety of users. Further, it would be especially desirable to have user interfaces and development environments that take advantage of the power of the object and frame structures now employed in some pen-based computer operating systems. Thus, them remains a need for new and different user interfaces that take advantage of the strengths of some pen-based computer systems.